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Trunk Size

Mike W

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My wife and I are travelers that limits our luggage to one carry on per person (we have a small day bag that we can break out if needed) even if we go overseas for trips. The Elio is a special challenge though, if we do take a road trip, we'll need to see if we need to cut back even with our packing habits. All part of the adventure!
 

RUCRAYZE

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Following up on my previous post; I took this new pic and modified it to make the "station wagon" style. Actually, I kind of like the look of it better than the original. It will only give a modest amount of extra trunk space but any we could get is better than none. I think I would choose it over the original....

Imaklhge1.jpg
Nice job, first design I like.
 

BilgeRat

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My wife and I are travelers that limits our luggage to one carry on per person (we have a small day bag that we can break out if needed) even if we go overseas for trips. The Elio is a special challenge though, if we do take a road trip, we'll need to see if we need to cut back even with our packing habits. All part of the adventure!

Mike, I have a set of trunk lid bags for my Miata that was made by Atlantic Designs. I don't think they're made any more, but something similar should work with the Elio. Appropriately sized, and one above the other instead of side by side like on the Miata, they should work handily. (Oh, FYI, they were waterproof and came with a mat to put under them to protect the paint.)
 

RUCRAYZE

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Mike, I have a set of trunk lid bags for my Miata that was made by Atlantic Designs. I don't think they're made any more, but something similar should work with the Elio. Appropriately sized, and one above the other instead of side by side like on the Miata, they should work handily. (Oh, FYI, they were waterproof and came with a mat to put under them to protect the paint.)
You reminded me of my Toyota Spyder MR2 that probably had less space than my Elio, there was a company also that made bags specifically for the space behind the seats- like soft saddlebags, rip-stop nylon , still had to limit myself to three shopping bags of groceries!!
 

Coss

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My wife and I are travelers that limits our luggage to one carry on per person (we have a small day bag that we can break out if needed) even if we go overseas for trips. The Elio is a special challenge though, if we do take a road trip, we'll need to see if we need to cut back even with our packing habits. All part of the adventure!
I first mentioned in a different thread the idea of Saddle Bags for the Elio; maybe it's time I looked a little deeper into the idea, it should be that hard to do. Size wise it would work out well; just find a suitable size pair of bags and a lock on mount; there's a strong enough frame to attach to. I did a bunch of work with Yakima Racks in the 80's, maybe it's time to contact them again; they love new ideas like this; I worked with their design department when I came up with a modified hard shell golf bag mount from a trailer hitch bike carrier. The first one's that got them were the company execs so when they went golfing, they could carry 2 or 3 sets of clubs in a Jag and not use any inside space.
 

Rickb

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Yeah, kind of like that. Only thing I would change is side bags would be longer; from the back edge of the door to the tail.
Hardest thing to do would be making sure to have equal weight side to side.
Yes, equal weight distribution would be critical on saddlebags.
 

slinches

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Imbalanced weight in saddlebags can be a nuisance, but it isn't a serious problem. Just put a bit more weight on the opposite stirrup and you'll be fine until you can stop and readjust.

Seriously though, wouldn't it be better to bolt the boxes directly to the frame? That way there's no risk of things shifting or losing luggage regardless of the weight distribution.
 
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